Is it ok to travel with a full plastic gas can on my bumper?
It doesn't seem safe but what else would I do? I haven't used my genny enough yet to know when I will need gas.
Forum Discussion
My two centavos on this:
I cannot -stand- the EPA approved cans. I have encountered one type of spout that requires twisting... and leaks. The only type of spout I've found which is decent is the one where you rest one notch on what you are filling, press down on a wedge, and it unlocks to pour.
The other twist-to-pour spout, I learned to my horror that it is to be avoided. I went to relieve pressure before filling up my generator, opened it... and out went almost a half-gallon of gas... in a fine mist, just like I was holding an oversized fuel injector Luckily, there wasn't anything around that could have been a point of ignition, or I would have had a pretty nifty crater, and a trip to the local burn ward.
Since I use a pickup truck, I place my gas cans in a row, then use a ratchet strap through the handles to make sure they keep in a straight line. This way, if something rams my vehicle, the cans will remain in place.
Once I move to a motorhome... different story. I am most likely going to see about a hitch mounted cargo carrier that is mounted on a secondary receiver bracket with a rise, higher than normal, then store my portable generator and my gas cans on that. This way, there is a good chance that the rear-ending vehicle goes under the rack, as opposed to striking my gas cans directly.
Another idea I may do is (assuming the motorhome's structure allows this) is to mount pack mounts for RotoPax containers on the rear wall of the MH. If I can mount two rows of paired brackets, I can carry 5-20 extra gallons of gasoline for a generator, as well as the generator itself right below on a hitch cargo rack.
Don't forget what truck camper people do. There are some very excellent front bumper and hitch mounted carriers which can carry a generator, and 2-4 cans of fuel for it in the front. I've yet to hear about a mushroom cloud caused by this setup, and it does work well.
I cannot -stand- the EPA approved cans. I have encountered one type of spout that requires twisting... and leaks. The only type of spout I've found which is decent is the one where you rest one notch on what you are filling, press down on a wedge, and it unlocks to pour.
The other twist-to-pour spout, I learned to my horror that it is to be avoided. I went to relieve pressure before filling up my generator, opened it... and out went almost a half-gallon of gas... in a fine mist, just like I was holding an oversized fuel injector Luckily, there wasn't anything around that could have been a point of ignition, or I would have had a pretty nifty crater, and a trip to the local burn ward.
Since I use a pickup truck, I place my gas cans in a row, then use a ratchet strap through the handles to make sure they keep in a straight line. This way, if something rams my vehicle, the cans will remain in place.
Once I move to a motorhome... different story. I am most likely going to see about a hitch mounted cargo carrier that is mounted on a secondary receiver bracket with a rise, higher than normal, then store my portable generator and my gas cans on that. This way, there is a good chance that the rear-ending vehicle goes under the rack, as opposed to striking my gas cans directly.
Another idea I may do is (assuming the motorhome's structure allows this) is to mount pack mounts for RotoPax containers on the rear wall of the MH. If I can mount two rows of paired brackets, I can carry 5-20 extra gallons of gasoline for a generator, as well as the generator itself right below on a hitch cargo rack.
Don't forget what truck camper people do. There are some very excellent front bumper and hitch mounted carriers which can carry a generator, and 2-4 cans of fuel for it in the front. I've yet to hear about a mushroom cloud caused by this setup, and it does work well.
